Falling Opioid Use Continues to Push Down Comp Pharma Costs, Drug Survey Finds

A consistent drop in opioid use continued to drive down workers’ compensation pharmacy costs across the U.S. last year, capping a five-year trend that showed opioid spending declined by more than $579 million over that time, according to a drug survey report released Friday. And as injured workers, physicians and insurers have relied less on opioids as treatment, overall comp pharmacy costs have decreased by 38% — about $1.8 billion — over the past decade, according to the latest Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Compensation from CompPharma. Despite ...